Friends and neighbors,

This week at the legislature, I have been focusing on the priorities of this session. I am concerned about recovering from COVID, rebuilding the economy, and keeping the elderly protected; however, my top priority will always be Minnesotans.

On Tuesday, Governor Walz announced his budget for the 2022-23 biennium. While my colleagues and I have been pushing to prioritize Minnesotans and how to recover from COVID, the Governor is pushing for tax hikes and increased spending, regardless of the $1.3 billion deficit.

While Minnesota families and businesses throughout the state have been making sacrifice after sacrifice to survive this pandemic, Governor Walz is looking for increased spending and higher taxes. On Tuesday, a bill from Senator Rosen passed through the State Government Committee requiring some government agencies to cut their administrative and operational budgets by 5% to lessen the financial burden brought on by the pandemic and budget deficit. This would not impact Veteran Affairs or the Direct Care and Treatment sector of MDH.

Over the past year, Minnesotans have had to reform, restructure, and resurrect their lives as life has changed by the minute. If Minnesotans are able to make these drastic changes to adapt, the government can as well. A balanced Minnesota budget is possible without raising taxes and fees. I will continue to work with the Governor to create a budget that works for all of Minnesota.  

The Governor also announced his plan for education reform moving forward. I was hoping to hear about how to get all students back into the classroom safely and as soon as possible, but that was not the main takeaway. While I agree with the Governor on the belief that each and every student has the right to a quality education, we have different beliefs on how to achieve that goal.

At this point, children have been out of school for nearly a year. Students are falling behind, struggling with mental health, and these kids are concerned for their future. The legislature needs to move quickly as no one knows how this will impact them from social, educational, and economic standpoint. These are the future leaders of the world and they are being left in the cold.

This week, I have passed two bills through the State Government Committee. The first focuses on lottery winners and will protect the privacy of Minnesotans who win the lottery. I believe this is an important safety measure for these winners to avoid harassment, solicitation, and in some cases, violence or murder. With this bill, lottery winners can choose to keep their identity anonymous to avoid any such trouble that may arise. Winning the lottery should be an exciting time, and with this bill we can remove fears from the winner so they can enjoy their prize with those they choose to share the news with.

The second bill I passed is to Stop the Flip of daylight savings. Twice a year we normalize changing the time for an arbitrary goal of having more sunlight in the day. This switch is unnatural for our bodies and causes many issues that have gone mostly unnoticed because this has become a tradition. Flipping the time impacts everyone – children, adults, even pets – by complicating sleeping patterns and affecting the circadian rhythm, responsible for body function, metabolism, blood pressure, and even hormones. This bill is a one-time fix, with federal approval, to stop the arbitrary conformity to time zones and return to natural time. We do not lose any time by getting rid of daylight savings, but we will be able to feel the benefits almost immediately.

Being your voice at the Capitol is one of the greatest honors of my life. Please feel free to reach out to my office to talk about your legislative concerns. I am here to represent you; please use me as your sounding board on a phone call, zoom meeting, or in person at the Capitol or in district.

Sincerely,
Mary